Team News

Betis' fantastic campaign continued as they won 3-2 at Deportivo la Coruna last weekend to move into fourth on their own, three points clear of Malaga.

There was further good news for Pepe Mel this week as central defenders Paulao, Mario and Damien Perquis have all been passed fit, but it remains to be seen whether Mel will bring any of them straight back into the starting line-up ahead of the pairing of Chechu Dorado and Antonio Amaya, who have done well in recent weeks.

Joel Campbell also took advantage of a rare start last weekend to score the winner with a stunning strike and he should retain his place with Juan Carlos still a doubt.

Barcelona continue to obliterate all before them in La Liga as they hammered Athletic Bilbao 5-1 last weekend with Lionel Messi scoring twice to take him to within one goal of Gerd Muller's all-time scoring record in a calendar year.

However, the Argentine may not get the chance to surpass the German this weekend as he suffered a nasty looking knee injury in midweek and is doubtful for the trip to Seville.

Should he miss out, David Villa will enjoy a rare start through the middle, whilst Tito Vilanova will also recall Victor Valdes, Jordi Alba, Cesc Fabregas, Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Pedro after giving them a rest on Wednesday.

Prediction

Betis have already proven their capability of upsetting the odds with a 1-0 win over Real Madrid a fortnight ago and they caused Barcelona problems last season with only two late goals costing them a point in a 4-2 defeat at the Camp Nou, before drawing 2-2 with the Catalans at home on the last day of the season.

Should Messi not make it back it would be another huge boost for Los Verdiblancos, but Barca's fallible side in the early part of the season seems to have disappeared with the return of Gerard Pique and Carles Puyol, and with the majority of their stars having had the week off it is hard to see Betis preventing them from racking up their 14th victory in 15 league games.

Either way though, this should be a highly entertaining encounter between two sides who love to attack and don't be surprised if Betis manage to net a couple of goals for the third game in succession against the league leaders.

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